Speed Kills: Murder on the Basepaths

By Stefi Kaplan
Posted Monday, June 18, 2007

For the record, I did write this column before the Subway Series started on Friday...but the Mets sure went out there trying to prove my point this weekend.

Ok, the Mets have an unfair advantage. Jose Reyes alone has as many stolen bases as the Colorado Rockies, the 14th best team in that category. But it’s not just him: even without Jose, the team is near the top of the pack.

This Mets team is electric and you don’t need stats to prove that. Throughout the Randolph Era, the Mets have used speed to instill fear in opposing pitchers and fielders. Between forcing bad throws, balks and rushed plays, nothing scares a pitcher more than speed on the basepaths. When the speedy guys get on base, the pitchers sweat just a bit more, walk around the mound an extra time and labor over what pitch to throw for an extra second or two. More often than not, this pause ends up hurting the pitcher, instead of allowing him to regain his composure (If you don’t believe me, google “Armando Benitez Jose Reyes” and see what comes up). Speed can make the opposition think too much, and contrary to conventional wisdom, too much thinking on a baseball field can lead to bad things. One of the less obvious but significant examples of the power of speed was the resurrection of Paul Lo Duca last year. Not to take anything away from Paulie, but he certainly saw much better pitches while our pesky lead-off hitter was on base distracting pitchers from getting into a groove. It is probably not a coincidence that Lo Duca had his highest batting average since 2001 (.318) hitting behind Reyes last year.

This quote just about sums up the Mets:

“A well-run restaurant is like a winning baseball team. It makes the most of every crew member's talent and takes advantage of every split-second opportunity to speed up service.”

- David Ogilvy

The Mets capitalize on just about every running opportunity, making them the toughest team to face in the NL. Sure, they can hit homeruns, pitch shutouts and single and double any team to death, but the real heart of this team is its running game. Given the natural talent of guys like Reyes, Beltran, Chavez and Gomez, it’s no surprise that speed is the team’s greatest weapon. But between the guidance of Willie, a prolific base-stealer in his day, and schooling from the all-time stolen base leader Rickey Henderson, it’s not just the speedy, pesky guys who are running. As of Saturday, Wright is a perfect 16 for 16 and the only Mets position players that have yet to steal a base (minimum 30 at bats) are Jose Valentin, Damien Easley, Ruben Gotay (it must be a second base thing) and Ramon Castro (I’m not touching that one). Even over the course of an abysmal June, the Mets still have a commanding lead in stolen bases over the rest of the MLB. The most impressive aspect of these stats is that the Mets are an injury-ridden team. Hamstring problems and broken bones are rampant. Yet, the Mets just keep on running and challenging the opposition to make a perfect throw. In short, if Willie ever opens a restaurant, rest assured it will get a 28 in Zagat for service.

Speed is the signature of the Mets. They execute through bunts, stolen bases, sparkling defense and stretching singles into doubles and triples. Knowing when to use this asset is of course the most difficult part of the running game, but it is where the Mets management shines. Generally, the more you run, the more you are thrown out. Not so with the Mets. Despite stealing 23 more bases than the 2nd best team (the Angels), the Mets have only been caught 16 times – compared with the league leading 25 (through Saturday).

And the best thing about speed is that unlike power droughts, you don’t just lose your ability to run midseason. Homerun hitters go through slumps. Pitchers have bad outings. Speed, however, is the most consistent component of a player’s game. Short of restrictive injuries, running is immune from those slumps and ruts that affect other aspects of the game. If the Mets get on base, you have to like their chances of scoring (notwithstanding recent evidence to the contrary), because their collective ability to manufacture runs is something the Mets can count on all year long. Mets fans also can take solace in the state of the Mets by noting that the current Mets organization from top to bottom is built on youth and speed.

Speed creates energy. And this energy is what separates the Mets from other teams. From a player’s perspective, speed helps the Mets win ballgames. From a fan’s perspective, it makes them a whole lot more exciting to watch. Either way, the electricity at Shea when the Mets run the basepaths is just lethal to a pitcher trying to “get into a nice little rhythm.” And that is precisely how speed kills.